was a samurai member of the

Minamoto clan was a Aristocracy (class), noble surname bestowed by the Emperors of Japan upon members of the Imperial House of Japan, imperial family who were excluded from the List of emperors of Japan, line of succession and demoted into the ranks of Nobili ...

, who was the founder of Izumo-Genji clan.

Background

Sasaki Yoshikiyo was born the fifth son of

Sasaki Hideyoshi was a samurai member of the Minamoto clan, who fought in the Hōgen and Heiji Rebellions and in the Genpei War. He was the adopted son of Minamoto no Tameyoshi since age thirteen. Life Sasaki fought under Minamoto no Yoshitomo in the Hōgen R ...

, who was the head of the

Sasaki clan are a historical Japanese clan. History They are descended directly from Emperor Uda (868–897) by his grandson Minamoto no Masazane (920–993) (Uda Genji), but were adopted by the Seiwa Genji. Minamoto no Nariyori, great-grandson of Masaz ...

of Uda-Genji (Uda-Gen clan), based in Sasaki-no-sho, Gamo-gun Manor in

Ōmi Province was a Provinces of Japan, province of Japan, which today comprises Shiga Prefecture. It was one of the provinces that made up the Tōsandō Circuit (subnational entity), circuit. Its nickname is . Under the ''Engishiki'' classification system, ...

. His father Hideyoshi Sasaki fought against the Taira clan in the Hōgen (1156) and Heiji Wars (1160). Following his defeat in 1160, Hideyoshi was deprived of his feudal estate, and moved away to

Sagami Province was a Provinces of Japan, province of Japan located in what is today the central and western Kanagawa Prefecture.Louis-Frédéric, Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Kanagawa''" at . Sagami Province bordered the provinces of Izu Province, Izu ...

. Shibuya Shigekuni respected Hideyoshi's bravery and sheltered Hideyoshi in his territory and had his daughter marry Hideyoshi. Sasaki Yoshikiyo was born in Sagami in 1161 as the fifth son of Sasaki Hideyoshi. His mother was a daughter of Shibuya Shigekuni. Although Yoshikiyo had four elder brothers, they were by different mothers. Yoshikiyo grew up in Sagami, and married a daughter of Ōba Kagechika.

Early military career

When

Minamoto no Yoritomo was the founder and the first shogun of the Kamakura shogunate, ruling from 1192 until 1199, also the first ruling shogun in the history of Japan.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Minamoto no Yoriie" in . He was the husband of Hōjō Masako ...

(head of the Genji clan) raised an army to overthrow the

Taira clan The was one of the four most important Japanese clans, clans that dominated Japanese politics during the Heian period, Heian period of History of Japan, Japanese history – the others being the Minamoto clan, Minamoto, the Fujiwara clan, Fuji ...

(Heike) in 1180, Yoshikiyo's half-brothers sided with Yoritomo. Shibuya Shigekuni, who was Yoshikiyo's maternal grandfather, sided with the Taira clan, and Oba Kagechika, who was his father-in-law, became the head of the Tairas' army. Shigekuni's longtime kindness made Hideyoshi unable to make up his mind. As a result, although he sided with the Tairas officially, he sided with Yoritomo in fact. His son Yoshikiyo also worried about the same problem, but he decided to side with the Taira clan finally. Yoshikiyo, who was on the Tairas' side, won the

Battle of Ishibashiyama The was the first in which Minamoto no Yoritomo, who became ''shōgun'' less than a decade later, was commander of the Minamoto forces. The battle was fought on September 14, 1180, in the southwest of present-day Odawara, Kanagawa Prefecture, ...

, which turned out to be the first fight of a series of wars. On the other hand, Yoritomo, who was on the Genji side, won the Battle of Kise-gawa, which broke out next. Yoshikiyo surrendered to Yoritomo, and after that, he sided with the Minamotos and fought in the

Genpei War The was a national civil war between the Taira clan, Taira and Minamoto clan, Minamoto clans during the late Heian period of Japan. It resulted in the downfall of the Taira and the establishment of the Kamakura shogunate under Minamoto no Yori ...

. In 1185, the Taira were overthrown in the

Battle of Dan-no-ura A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force c ...

. After the war ended, his four elder half-brothers were praised for their distinguished military services by Yoritomo, and they got their own feudal estates. But since only Yoshikiyo had been on the enemy side at first, he was not granted any reward. However, he kept on working seriously without resentment. In 1221, the

Jōkyū War , also known as the Jōkyū Disturbance or the Jōkyū Rebellion, was fought in Japan between the forces of Retired Emperor Go-Toba and those of the Hōjō clan, regents of the Kamakura shogunate, whom the retired emperor was trying to overthro ...

broke out. He sided with Bakufu (Kamakura Shoguneto) and won a victory in this war. His distinguished military service and his old achievements were praised by the Bakufu and he became the governor of both

Oki Province was a Provinces of Japan, province of Japan consisted of the Oki Islands in the Sea of Japan, located off the coast of the provinces of Izumo Province, Izumo and Hōki Province, Hōki. The area is now Oki District, Shimane, Oki District in moder ...

and

Izumo Province was an Old provinces of Japan, old province of Japan which today consists of the eastern part of Shimane Prefecture. It was sometimes called . The province is in the Chūgoku region. History During the early Kofun period (3rd century) this reg ...

Later life

When he became the governor of Oki and Izumo he emigrated to Izumo. In 1242, Yoshikiyo died at age 81. Since his posterity prospered there, future generations called him the "founder of the Izumo Genji".

His family (Izumo Genji clan)

*grandfather:Sasaki Tametoshi **father:

***himself:Sasaki Yoshikoyo ****eldest daughter:Nogi Mitsutsuna's wife ****adopted son:Nogi Mitsutsuna (

Nogi Maresuke Count , also known as Kiten, Count Nogi GCB (December 25, 1849September 13, 1912), was a Japanese general in the Imperial Japanese Army and a governor-general of Taiwan. He was one of the commanders during the 1894 capture of Port Arthur from ...

's ancestor) ****eldest son:Sasaki Masayoshi ****second son:Sasaki Yasukiyo *****Yasukiyo's eldest son:Oki Yoshishige *****Yasukiyo's 2nd son:Oki Tokikiyo *****Yasukiyo's 3rd son:Enya Yoriyasu *****Yasukiyo's 4th son:Toda Yoshiyasu *****Yasukiyo's 5th son:Sasaki Shigekiyo *****Yasukiyo's 6th son:Gotō Motoaki *****Yasukiyo's 7th son:Sasaki Yorikiyo *****Yasukiyo's 8th son:

Takaoka Muneyasu was a Shugodai of Oki Provincepresent day Shimane Prefecture, in the Kamakura period. He was the founder of the Takaoka clan in Izumo Province, Japan. Takaoka Muneyasu was the 8th son of Sasaki Yasukiyo. His mother was Kasai Kiyochika's daugh ...

*****Yasukiyo's 9th son:Koshi Yoshinobu *****Yasukiyo's 10th son:Komazaki Kiyomura *****Yasukiyo's 11th son:Sasaki Kiyoyoshi *****Yasukiyo's eldest daughter:Momoi Yorinao's wife *****Yasukiyo's 2nd daughter:Sasaki Munetsune's wife *****Yasukiyo's 3rd daughter:Azuma Rokurōzaemon's wife

References

* Kitagawa, Hiroshi and Bruce T. Tsuchida, eds. (1975).

The Tale of the Heike is an epic account compiled prior to 1330 of the struggle between the Taira clan and Minamoto clan for control of Japan at the end of the 12th century in the Genpei War (1180–1185). It has been translated into English at least five times. ...

. Tokyo: University of Tokyo Press. *

Azuma Kagami is a Japanese historical chronicle. The medieval text chronicles events of the Kamakura Shogunate from Minamoto no Yoritomo's rebellion against the Taira clan in Izokuni of 1180 to Munetaka Shinnō (the 6th shōgun) and his return to Kyoto in ...

Genpei Jōsuiki The , is a 48-book extended version of the ''Heike Monogatari'' (''The Tale of the Heike''). References External links at University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research unive ...

Background

Early military career

Later life

His family (Izumo Genji clan)

References

See also